Saturday, April 4, 2009

The Long and Exhausting Broad

Yesterday at lunch my family came up with a new word; Broad (pronounced Brode) meaning an emotional breakdown caused by being on the road. Why did we feel the need to make up our own word? Well, they say neccesity is the baby mama of invention...

And we were all having our own little broads.

When my mom and I have broads we both get super sensitive to sarcasm and/or any kind of implication that we might not be doing things right. At the same time we both become more free with our "jokes" and "helpful suggestions" to those around us.

This makes for conversations that go from cordial to combative in under 60 seconds.

When Dave's having a broad, he's in a constant state of frustration. I find it best to keep my head down and ask for as little as possible from him, lest I get the dreaded sigh and eye roll combination or even worse, the defensive snap.

You can tell my father is having a broad because he gets really quiet.

It's not suprising that at this point in time we all have a serious case of broad burn. After all, we've been out for ten days, riding around the midwest in a vehicle that more closely resembles a boat than a bus. The guys have done a ton of driving. The ladies have done a ton of caring for an infant. Dave and I have played 8 shows already. My folks are 60 and 61...come to think of it, we're all doing exceptionally well considering the circumstances.

The only person who doesn't seem completely broady is Lisel. For this, I thank all four of our lucky stars. Because I have a feeling that Lisel's broad would be accompanied by heartbreakingly inconsolable crying/screaming. And that would surely push us all into territory beyond the broad...we haven't come up with a word for that kind of road weariness.